Sri Lanka Opposition moves no trust motion against justice minister over prison riots issue

The entire opposition on Friday signed a motion of no confidence against Sri Lanka’s Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara, claiming that the government had failed to protect both inmates and prison officials during the Negombo prison clashes.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) said it has started an investigation into the violence at the Negombo prison on July 5 and 6 that killed 28 people, including eight prison officials. The main opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa and all other opposition group leaders signed the motion of no confidence against the justice minister, stating that the government had failed to protect both inmates and prison officials during the clashes at the Negombo prison. However, the date for the motion will have to be decided at the next parliamentary business committee meeting.

Prison spokesman Chandana Ekanayake said the government had approved a compensation of LKR 5,00,000 for each prison official killed in the riot. The violent clashes were triggered by a dispute between rival groups of inmates over drugs. Severe overcrowding was a major factor that prevented authorities from containing the clashes, officials said.

The prison at Negombo – a western coastal city about 35-odd kilometres north of Colombo – housed around 2,400 inmates at the time of the riot against its sanctioned capacity of 700, the prisoners’ rights organisation said. In a related development, the HRCSL said it has started an investigation into the incidents at the Negombo prison.

“The inquiry covers the circumstances that led to the violence, the deaths and injuries of inmates and prison officers, allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment of transferred inmates, and the deaths of two inmates while in the custody of prison officials,” the HRCSL said in a statement on Friday.